Official: Iran, Venezuela to Ink Oil Contract Soon

Managing-Director of the Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company (IOEC) Ali Taheri Motlaq announced that Tehran and Caracas will soon sign a contract to build an offshore oil installation construction yard in Venezuela.

“The IOEC’s projects are progressing in India and Venezuela and the preliminary steps have been taken for the start of executive operations of constructing a yard for offshore oil installations in Venezuela,” Taheri Motlaq told FNA on Tuesday.

“And all the necessary investments will be made by Venezuela,” he added.

“The construction contract for this yard has not yet come into effect, but we predict that it will be put into action to start executive operations in the next two months,” he added.

Tehran and Caracas have expanded their economic and industrial relations in recent years; in a latest development a senior Iranian official announced that the country plans to deliver the first home-made Aframax oil tanker to Venezuela.

The tanker is one of the four tankers ordered by the Venezuelan company and built by Iran Marine Industrial Company (Sadra).

Iran has in recent years expanded friendly ties with Latin America, specially in economic, trade and industrial fields.

Since taking office in 2005, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has expanded Iran’s cooperation with many Latin American states, including Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Cuba.

Iran’s strong and rapidly growing ties with Latin America, specially with Venezuela, have raised eyebrows in the US and its western allies since Tehran and Latin nations have forged an alliance against the imperialist and colonialist powers and are striving hard to reinvigorate their relations with the other independent countries which pursue a line of policy independent from the US.